Raising the minimum wage - at least in Oakland - would have widespread positive impacts, economic and otherwise, and almost no downside, according to a UC Berkeley report scheduled to be released Friday.

The findings generally hold true for other Bay Area cities considering minimum wage hikes, including San Francisco, Berkeley, Richmond and Concord, researchers said.

"Raising the minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of consumers, and they'll tend to spend it locally, which is good for the local economy," said Ken Jacobs, chair of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, which conducted the study. "What you don't see with minimum wage increases is a negative impact on employment or the economy."

In Oakland, raising the minimum hourly wage to $12.25 - a measure expected to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot - would boost the paychecks of up to 48,000 people by at least $115 million, according to the study.

That translates to fewer people dependent on taxpayer-subsidized social programs, lower worker turnover, higher worker performance and more money spent at local businesses, Jacobs said.

For businesses, costs would rise 0.2 to 0.3 percent for retail and 2.7 to 2.9 percent for restaurants, the report found. But those increases would probably pass to the consumer, or be countered by the savings of lower employee turnover, he said.

This was good news to workers like John Jones, a security guard at a downtown Oakland Burger King who earns $10 an hour.

"This money is needed just to buy basic things for the house," said Jones, who's been active in the campaign for a higher minimum wage. "Right now I can't afford curtains so I use a blanket. My toilet seat broke, and I couldn't afford a new one for two months."

The report also found that 96 percent of minimum wage workers in Oakland are adults, and nearly half are married. About one-third have children.

"This is not teenagers looking for a little extra money to spend," Jacobs said. "These are adults with families and real expenses."